This invention is related to boat trailers having a winch with a line that is connected to a boat to pull it on the trailer.
Boat trailers are commonly used for transporting a boat to and from a body of water. Usually the trailer is backed down a ramp into the water to a position in which the boat can float. The boat is then released from the trailer. Usually the connection between the boat and the trailer is a line connected to a winch on the trailer and carrying a hook that is engaged with an eye in the bow of the boat.
To retrieve the boat, usually a person will walk down the trailer which often is slippery because the lower end is in the water, until he can connect the winch line to the boat. He then winches the boat onto the trailer.
There are several problems with this arrangement. For example, the user frequently does not know whether the lower, submerged end of the trailer is at a sufficient depth in the water to accommodate the boat. This is a function of the slope of the ramp and the length of the trailer. In addition, it is sometimes dangerous for a person attempting to connect the winch line to a boat because he has to wade into the water as he walks along the trailer.